Sidney Kanazawa, Esq.
Mediator/Arbitrator
Sid Kanazawa is a mediator, arbitrator, trial lawyer, and bridge builder bringing people together even when it seems impossible. For over 40 years, he represented plaintiffs and defendants, locally, nationally, and internationally, in jury and non-jury trials, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, crises, mediations, and negotiations.
Sid builds bridges to take parties from anger and distrust to curiosity and hope. In the largest oil spill in the Port of Los Angeles, Sid quelled an angry mob and settled 600 claims within two weeks of the spill and all 2,000+ within three months. For plaintiffs and defendants, he has resolved multi-million matters over lunch and wrote about it in a 2004 article entitled, “Apologies and Lunch” which has been republished multiple times. Recently, at the Edelman Children’s Court, he has engaged parents negotiating their parenting time and has converted their long-standing hate, anger, and distrust into solid agreements in nearly 100% of the mediations he has handled.
Practice Areas
- Admiralty
- Anti-trust
- Business/contract
- Class Action
- Construction Defect
- Education
- Employment
- Entertainment
- Environmental
- Family Law
- Government
- Intellectual Property
- Manufacturing
- Natural Disasters
- Personal Injury
- Product Liability
- Real Estate
- Sports Medicine
- Transportation, Maritime & Logistics
- Personal Injury – Traumatic Brain Injury
- Low Cost Mediation
- Family Law / Divorce Mediation
- Entertainment Law Specialists
- Discovery – Civil
- Cybersecurity & Privacy
- Business / Contract Law Specialists
- Real Estate Specialists
- Products Liability
- Personal Injury
- Intermediate Low Cost Mediation
- Intellectual Property
- Healthcare Law
- Governmental Entities
- Environmental Issues
- Employment Law Specialists
- Disability/Access Specialists
- Construction Defect
- Class Actions
Organizations & Achievements
- General Counsel, National Asian Pacific Bar Association, 2007-2017
- Recipient, Diversity and Inclusion Award, Litigation Counsel of America, 2019
- Named "Most Influential Minority Attorneys," Los Angeles Business Journal, 2018
- Recipient, McGuireWoods, Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Award, 2017
- Board Member, Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., 2015-2018
- Board Member, Japanese American Bar Association, 2014-16
- Recipient, President's Award, National Asian Pacific Bar Association, 2014
- Recipient, G. Duffield Smith Outstanding Publication Award, DRI, 2007
- Chair, Vice Chair, Program Chair, Trial Tactics Committee, DRI, 2005-2010
- Named to "Southern California Super Lawyers," Class Action, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2004-2019
- Prolific speaker, panelist, instructor and author on a wide range of topics for legal organizations and publications nationwide, including diversity and inclusion; product liability, mass casualty and cross-border dispute resolution; and negotiation, deposition and trial skills
Education & Training
- J.D., University of Southern California Gould School of Law, 1978
- B.A., University of Hawaii, Education, 1974
- Harvard Program on Negotiation
- Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine Law School)
- Southern California Family Mediation Program (Edelman Children's Court)
- Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- FINRA
- Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs Mediation Program (Stanley Mosk Superior Court)
- Dan Simon Transformative Mediation Program
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California Mediation Panel
Sidney Kanazawa, Esq.
Sid Kanazawa is a mediator, arbitrator, trial lawyer, and bridge builder bringing people together even when it seems impossible. For over 40 years, he represented plaintiffs and defendants, locally, nationally, and internationally, in jury and non-jury trials, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, crises, mediations, and negotiations.
Sid builds bridges to take parties from anger and distrust to curiosity and hope. In the largest oil spill in the Port of Los Angeles, Sid quelled an angry mob and settled 600 claims within two weeks of the spill and all 2,000+ within three months. For plaintiffs and defendants, he has resolved multi-million matters over lunch and wrote about it in a 2004 article entitled, “Apologies and Lunch” which has been republished multiple times. Recently, at the Edelman Children’s Court, he has engaged parents negotiating their parenting time and has converted their long-standing hate, anger, and distrust into solid agreements in nearly 100% of the mediations he has handled.
PRACTICE AREAS
Matters involving admiralty, anti-trust, business/contract, class action, construction defect, education, employment, entertainment, environmental, family law, government, intellectual property, manufacturing, natural disasters, personal injury, product liability, real estate, sports medicine and more
ORGANIZATIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS
- General Counsel, National Asian Pacific Bar Association, 2007-2017
- Recipient, Diversity and Inclusion Award, Litigation Counsel of America, 2019
- Named "Most Influential Minority Attorneys," Los Angeles Business Journal, 2018
- Recipient, McGuireWoods, Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Award, 2017
- Board Member, Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., 2015-2018
- Board Member, Japanese American Bar Association, 2014-16
- Recipient, President's Award, National Asian Pacific Bar Association, 2014
- Recipient, G. Duffield Smith Outstanding Publication Award, DRI, 2007
- Chair, Vice Chair, Program Chair, Trial Tactics Committee, DRI, 2005-2010
- Named to "Southern California Super Lawyers," Class Action, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2004-2019
- Prolific speaker, panelist, instructor and author on a wide range of topics for legal organizations and publications nationwide, including diversity and inclusion; product liability, mass casualty and cross-border dispute resolution; and negotiation, deposition and trial skills
EDUCATION & TRAINING
- J.D., University of Southern California Gould School of Law, 1978
- B.A., University of Hawaii, Education, 1974
- Harvard Program on Negotiation
- Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (Pepperdine Law School)
- Southern California Family Mediation Program (Edelman Children's Court)
- Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- FINRA
- Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs Mediation Program (Stanley Mosk Superior Court)
- Dan Simon Transformative Mediation Program
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California Mediation Panel
CONTACT US
We Handle Complex Dispute Cases Of All Kinds
Reach out to us now to schedule a consultation. Our experienced and professional team is here to provide expert guidance through your legal issues.
Testimonials From People We’ve Helped
Very professional place to mediate a legal matter. Many places to have a private conversation, comfortable surroundings
Linda L Mitchell
Honorable Mary Thornton House mediated over our impossible case. I never thought this could get resolved, as we were stuck on both sides for almost 4 years. Honorable Mary Thornton House listened to both sides and was able to communicate in a way that both sides understood. She was tenacious, diligent and had attention to details with the accounting and figures presented. We went back and forth into the night. But, she was able to calmly able to get a resolution on both sides. The honorable judge said that in ruling a case in court. You have an instant friend and a permanent enemy. In this case, I received a fair resolution. Grateful, that I did not have to go to court. Glad that our case got resolved. I highly recommend honorable Mary Thornton House